Thy Kingdom Come

Our history

In May 2016 the Archbishops of Canterbury and York invited Christians from across the Church of England to join a wave of prayer during the days between Ascension and Pentecost - a time when the church traditionally focuses on prayer. They encouraged everyone to ask for the Holy Spirit to help them be witnesses to Jesus Christ and to pray for others to discover that living faith.

What started as an idea gained momentum and in 2016 more than 100,000 Christians from different denominations and traditions took part from the UK and across the world. They joined in more than 3,000 events and services to pray for others to come to know Jesus Christ and for God’s kingdom to come. The time of prayer culminated in six national Beacon Events over Pentecost weekend at cathedrals in different parts of the country. At Winchester demand was so great overspill areas with big screens had to be organized and at Canterbury a live stream was set up for people to join in on the internet. By July it had received 300,000 views.

The response to this simple invitation was astonishing as hundreds of thousands joined in from churches of many denominations and different traditions around the UK and across the world.

In 2017, every diocese in the UK took part, and 85 per cent of Church of England churches and cathedrals were involved as well as the churches of the world-wide Anglican Communion and many other denominations and traditions. Leaders from Churches Together in England, including Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Baptist and Methodist churches, Free churches and Orthodox churches came together to pray 'Thy Kingdom Come'.